Ashley Cottrell

Hometown: Henderson, Nevada

Power Move: Yoga

Ashley Cottrell is the co-creator of Evolution Yoga and known for her inspirational style of teaching that incorporates not only the physical aspects of yoga, but also the spiritual. Known on social media as The Yoga Couple with her husband Mathew and as an International broadcaster, she has created a worldwide online yoga community that inspires through the shared journey of daily practice. A devoted practitioner of yoga for over ten years, Ashley was motivated to investigate the wisdom of natural healing, alternative medicine, and yoga at a young age. Watching her mother suffer from multiple spinal injuries and a prescription drug addiction led Ashley to look beyond the traditional methods of Western Medicine for answers. At age 21 she began the journey of teaching yoga with hopes to inspire her mother and the world to learn the methods of self-healing that would eventually lead to the soberity and healing of her mother. With direct training from Master Teachers such as Annie Carpenter, Ashley has has been inspired to integrate dynamic vinyasa flow with practical alignment, meditation, and breath awareness in order to lead her students down the path of self-inquiry and back to a life of healing and happiness. www.theyogacouple.com / www.evolutionyoga.com / @theyogacouple

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

I take ginseng root every morning and drink a class of water with lemon and watch out the window as the sun rises over the lake. I feel grateful every single day I wake up.

How would you describe your personal style?

Colorful, vibrant, and down to earth. I want to look like a goddess and be able to hop into a handstand at any moment!

Where is your favorite place to go to connect with nature and why?

The ocean because it reminds how small I really am. In the vastness of the sea, I remember this moment is fleeting and it drops me into the present.

What activity stirs your creativity most?

My yoga practice. I may lose myself in the world but as soon I return to my mat, I remember who I really am and all that I have to offer. After I practice, I always walk away feeling re-inspired.

What makes you feel the most connected with people?

There is something really sacred about the relationship between students and their teachers in a yoga setting. I feel like sharing my practice and guiding others through theirs, has allowed me to connect with people in a really authentic way. There are no “shoulds” or “should nots” in that type of environment. People can come as they are and if they don’t, the walls come down on the mat anyways. The transformation that students go through with their yoga practice shows me things about myself that I wouldn’t of known without their vulnerability. When we shake all the stories, the expectations, the persona we are trying to portray and just show up as we really are, we find out we are all more alike then we think. Teaching has allowed me an opportunity to connect deeply with complete strangers.